


Innocent

by thenakedbearlady



Series: Ladrien June 2019 [11]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Ladrien June
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-05-01 19:25:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19184110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenakedbearlady/pseuds/thenakedbearlady
Summary: Ladybug needs to clear a few things up.





	Innocent

**AC:** _You gotta get here now._

**MDC:** _Class doesn’t start for an hour._

**AC:** _Girl, you were right, I shouldn’t have said anything at the park, but you have to hurry._

It took Marinette a second to realize what Alya was even talking about, but when she did, she nearly fell out of bed.

“Crap, crap, crap!” Marinette floundered to get ready, leaving the house at record speed.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go in there right now.” 

Marinette halted her mad dash to get to class to find Adrien leaning against the lockers. She nearly tripped but was able to catch herself on the wall with a bit of flailing. 

“Are you okay?” He didn’t look okay. He looked like he was battling between wanting to cry and wanting to throw up.

Adrien shrugged, “I’ll be fine. Lila’s just been spreading a bit of misinformation this morning, and it’s a little hurtful.” 

“About you?!” Marinette would not have imagined that considering Lila’s goal since she started Françoise Dupont was to start a relationship with Adrien.

“No. Well, yeah. Kind of. Mostly about Ladybug.” He was glaring at the floor, his eyes swirling with emotions she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

“Oh?” Marinette asked, bitterly. “Did she say that Ladybug took her on a magical adventure through Paris since they’re _best friends_? Cause I’ve heard that one before.” 

“Well, it started that way. And then she claimed Ladybug admitted to stringing me on. And that she really had no interest in dating me. She might have insinuated it was a bet between her and Chat Noir.” Adrien’s voice cracked a bit. “And then, of course, Lila ended their friendship defending me.”

Marinette was having a hard time formulating thoughts, let alone speech. She tried a couple of times to get any word of comfort out, but she just managed a raspy whine in the back of her throat. 

Adrien finally looked at her then, his green eyes full of misery. “I guess I better head on in there.”

He started to go, but Marinette’s hand, of its own accord, latched onto his, stopping him. “You don’t believe her, right?”

He laughed, derisively, “Of course not. I just wish I could defend her.” Marinette dropped her hand like it was burned. “I don’t even know if I should deny that we are dating, to begin with, because it’s supposed to be a secret.” Adrien drew in a deep, shuddering breath, “I have to just let someone slander the girl I love, and it’s my fault.”

“It’s not your fault-”

He turned to her again, gaze fierce and _angry_. “Well, how do you think she found out about us? She was obviously eavesdropping on our conversation the other day. You were right to be so cautious. And Alya and Nino wouldn’t even know if I hadn’t guilted her into going to that tournament. I’d be surprised if she didn’t break up with me because of this. She should break up with me.”

“That’s not true! Ladybug told your friends because she wanted you to be happy! She _loves_ you. She’s not going to break up with you because of some conniving, deceitful, lying little… Gah!” She threw her hands up, trembling with fury. “I have a right mind to go in there, and wring, or maybe-” she cut off with another grunt, her hands gripping an imaginary neck in front of her.

“As nice as that sounds, and as sweet as it is for you to offer homicide, Ladybug wouldn’t want that.” He gave a resolute sigh, squared his shoulders, and cleared his face to a blank, serene smile. “I’m gonna go do some damage control. You coming?”

Marinette hated to crush the small hope he had when he invited her to join him. She really did. But she had a mission to accomplish. She gave a tight shake of her head, ignoring his flinch. “I need to go.” She turned and dashed away, intent on finding a good hiding spot. 

She managed to slip into a supply closet before losing control. While Adrien was right that he shouldn’t confront Lila, he was wrong about her not being _murderous_. Marinette slipped to the floor, face in her hands as she sobbed. Every time she turned around Lila was doing _something_ to ruin her life. And now she was hurting Adrien too?

“It’s okay Marinette”, Tikki was stroking her hair sympathetically, “You can pull through this.”

“I don’t know what to do. I should have worked harder to out her, it’s obvious she’s not going to stop.”

Tikki nodded serenely, “And what do you think you _should_ do?”

“Probably make a public announcement about how I’ve never dated Adrien”, she shrugged. “And maybe tell Nino and Alya we broke up.”

Tikki hummed in agreement. 

"I _can't_ do that though. Adrien needs me, I" Marinette stopped, sighing. "Tikki, I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

“Tikki, spot’s on!” Marinette transformed in a flash of pink, and bolted out of the closet, only knocking down a few cleaning supplies. A few students gasped and jumped out of her way, pulling out their phones to take pictures. She ignored them completely focused on her goal.

Her homeroom was buzzing with excitement when she approached the doors, but as soon as she threw them open, silence met her. All eyes were on her, with expression all varying shades of shock. Ladybug drew in a deep breath, smiling as hard as she could, and sauntered over to Adrien’s desk. 

He was looking at her like he couldn’t believe she was there, even pinching himself when she reached him. “Ladybug?” He scrambled from his seat, knocking his chair over. “What, um, what brings you here?” 

He dropped his gaze, his anxiety palpable. She could only guess what was going through his mind. She gave a quick look to Lila, taking in her horror, and smirked, before focusing again on Adrien. “I was nearby and thought I might wish my _boyfriend_ a good morning.” He nearly choked, looking up at her hopefully with unshed tears. “I know we just saw each other last night, but I missed you. I hope that’s okay.”

“Yes! More than okay!” he was grinning so hard it looked painful, but it was a _real_ smile instead of the forced one he’d had when she left him in the hall.

“I thought you were with Lila last night”, Alya said, grinning wickedly.

“Lila?” Ladybug tapped her finger to her chin, brows furrowed. “Isn’t she the girl who we had to save from Oni-Chan? Why would I be with her?”

“Well, aren’t you two best friends?” 

“Best friend’s? I’ve never seen her outside of an Akuma fight.” Ladybug shrugged. “Either way, I hope you have a wonderful day Adrien. I’ll see you _soon_.” She kissed him quickly, yet soundly, shouted: “Bug out!”, and swung out the window.

The class erupted again as soon as she was out of the threshold.


End file.
